Jack the Ripper - The Policeman: A New Suspect by Rod Beattie

Author:Rod Beattie
Format: epub

The inquiry has revealed the fact that a man named Jack Pizer, alias Leather Apron, has for some considerable period of time been in the habit of illusing [sic] prostitutes in this, and other parts of the Metropolis, and careful search has been and is continued to be made to find this man in order that his movements may be accounted for on the night in question, although at present there is no evidence whatever against him.

It is known that John Pizer was a Polish Jewish boot finisher who had probably been born in England. It is interesting to note that Helson’s report gives Pizer’s forename as Jack, thus intimating that Helson’s informant must have been someone who knew Pizer extremely well, as all other reports about him give his name as John.

Pizer lived at 22 Mulberry Street although on the night of 30-31 August 1888, he was staying at Crossinghams Lodging House. He said that he had had supper there at about 11.00 pm on the Thursday night and then went out to the Seven Sisters Road, where he saw the glow in the sky from the fire burning at the docks. According to his statement to the police, he arrived back at his lodging house at 1.30 am and spoke to the lodging house manager. He also said that he had spoken to a police constable whilst in Seven Sisters Road. His story was investigated and he was released.

The facts leading up to Pizer’s arrest make interesting reading, especially as there are discrepancies in his alibi in the days following the murder of Polly Nichols. Pizer stated that the night after the murder he went to Westminster, where he stayed in a lodging house in Peter Street for a week. He said that he never left Westminster, but then he made a curious remark. He stated that on Sunday 2 September, he had been in Church Street when two unknown women asked him if he was the man the police were looking for; he took this to mean Nichols’ murderer. However, if the Church Street he was in – which is today’s Fournier Street, Spitalfields – it means that although he stated that he had spent the entire week in Westminster, he must, at some point have come back to the East End.

A crowd of people had gathered after the two women made it known that they suspected him, and a police officer from J Division is reported to have temporarily arrested him. Pizer was forced to flee the scene with the mob chasing him after the arresting officer refused to take him into custody. (The police denied that he was ever arrested on that day.) It is curious that the two women accused him of being Leather Apron on 2 September, when the story that the police were looking for him did not break in the press until two days later, on 4 September. It is more than likely that Pizer had tried to accost one of the two women and because of this they assumed that he must be the murderer.

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